Doctors raise doubts over plans to more than double Hong Kong emergency ward fees
Consultants for the Hospital Authority have suggested raising the fee for accident and emergency services from HK$100 to HK$220
Doctors and patients’ groups have expressed concerns over proposals that could see emergency ward fees more than double in an attempt to cut waiting times and prevent overuse.
It is understood that consultants for the Hospital Authority have suggested raising the fee for accident and emergency services from HK$100 to HK$220, in an effort to also maintain the proportion of government subsidy at 82 per cent, which was set in 2003.
The move is hoped to drive away patients who visit emergency wards unnecessarily and alleviate the pressure on overburdened wards, where patients had to wait for more than 10 hours to see doctors in some hospitals during peak flu season.
However, Dr Axel Siu Yuet-chung, vice-president of the Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine, said the introduction of the HK$100 charge for emergency ward services in 2002 showed adding fees was not an appropriate approach.
“The number of patients dropped within a short period of time, but then the number increased gradually in 2004 onwards,” Siu told RTHK on Friday morning.
Ivan Lin, a community organiser from the Society for Community Organisation, worried that the proposal would prevent low-income families and the elderly from seeking medical help if needed.
